Glory of Christ Fellowship

Announcements - April 30, 2017 All-Church Prayer Meeting this Wednesday, May 3: Join us as we gather at 6:30 p.m. to pray together. We’ll meet in the cafeteria at the Handke Center. All are welcome. Child care will be provided. Agape Meal Next Sunday: Next week is Communion Sunday and we will share a meal together after the service. See the back of the announcements for full details about this monthly, all-church meal. Quarterly Business Meeting Next Sunday, May 7: Following the Agape Meal we will meet for our quarterly business meeting. Most of the time will be devoted to discussing and voting on whether or not to affiliate with the Southern Baptist Convention. The elders are still recommending this action, and whatever the direction of the discussion we will call for the vote that day. Members of GCF are asked to attend, while all attenders are welcome. You are invited to an Exciting Event!  Abba Pregnancy Resource Center Fundraising Banquet: Come May 11 at 6:30...

Overflowing Love: Why We Long to Share the Good News of Jesus Christ By Pastor Charlie Jesus Christ came into the world to glorify God the Father by seeking and saving the lost (Luke 19:10). Then, after the resurrection, he invited his followers to join him in this mission (Matthew 28:18-20). Why did Jesus have such strong desire to give his earthly life to this mission? While there are several important answers to this question, perhaps the most important one is this: Jesus engaged in this mission because he was consumed with love for the Father, even as the Father was consumed with love for him. This love then overflowed in the pursuit of the lost, even as it had in creation (see John 17). The mission of Jesus is the overflow of divine love. Love propelled Jesus out that others might come in. And therefore, when Jesus sent his followers out on this same mission, he was not merely giving them a command. He was not calling on them to fulfill a new duty. He was not institut...

In Spirit and Truth John 4:1-30 April 23, 2017 Questions for Study and Meditation Where was Jesus traveling from and to, and why did he have to pass through Samaria? Where did he stop? From where was the woman who came out to see him, and why does this matter? Why did the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans? How did Jesus turn this conversation toward spiritual things? What precisely did he mean by living water? Why did Jacob and Jacob’s well enter into the story?   How did Jesus open this woman’s  heart? Why did she then ask about the topic of worship? How did Jesus turn that conversation toward eternal things?   What did the woman do in light of their conversation? How did her town respond to the things she had to say? What’s the most important thing you learned from today’s sermon? From John 4:1-30? How has this sermon helped you to grow in love for God and others? What’s the most important thing Jesus would have you do in light...

Announcements - April 23, 2017 Iron Sharpens Iron Conference Saturday, April 29 from 8:30 a.m.- 4:55 p.m.: See Dave Fergus for more information and to sign up for the early bird group rate. Cost is $45, $32 for students, with an $8 optional lunch. Call or write Dave with any questions you might have: dfergus54@gmail.com. All-Church Prayer Meeting Wednesday, May 3: Join us as we gather at 6:30 p.m. to pray together. We’ll meet in the cafeteria at the Handke Center. All are welcome. Child care will be provided. Guest Speaker on Sunday, April 30:  It will be our privilege to have Joshua Whetstine preach the Word next Sunday. He will preach on local missions and church planting. He will stay for the second hour for a Q & A about joining with the Southern Baptist Convention. Quarterly Business Meeting Sunday, May 7: We will devote most of the time to the vote on whether or not to affiliate with the Southern Baptist Convention. The elders are still recommending t...

Faith and the Word of God By Pastor Charlie When George Müller was young in Christ, he struggled with reading the Bible on a regular basis. On the one hand, he had a hard time understanding it, and on the other hand, he had little enjoyment in it. Unfortunately, this led him to read little of the Bible and much of Christian authors. “I practically preferred, for the first four years of my divine life, the works of uninspired men to the Oracles of the living God” ( Autobiography of George Müller , Westminster Literature, 21). The sad consequence of this was that he remained a babe in Christ and weak in his faith. However, by the grace of God, Müller came to appreciate and feed on the Word of God day by day. He soon discovered that the Word of God is the food of faith, without which it shrivels and starves. Indeed, faith works by knowing the promises of God and trusting in the God of the promises in the ebb and flow of daily life. Therefore, if we neither know nor pray on the ...

Announcements - April 16, 2017 Foundation Builders 3 (Parenting Class) on Saturday, April 22: This class will meet at the church office from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Parents will learn the Bible’s call on them to go and make disciples of all nations, beginning with the first unreached people group in their lives: their own children. The class is taught by Pastor Kevin. Please RSVP to him by Monday, April 17. Youth Baptism Orientation Meeting: There will be a youth baptism orientation meeting on Tuesday, April 18 at the church office from 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. This meeting is designed for parents and their son or daughter who might be interested in pursuing the step of baptism. Participants will gain an understanding of the process of baptism at GCF. Contact Pastor Kevin to RSVP. Iron Sharpens Iron Conference on Saturday April 29th from 8:30a.m.-4:55p.m.: All males above the age of 13 are encouraged to attend this one-day conference intended to be a little bit like the old Pr...

John 18:1-11 When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. So he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.” This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.” Then Simon Peter , having ...

The Father Loves the Son John 3:22-36 April 9, 2017 Questions for Study and Meditation Where was the Judean countryside? Where had Jesus been and thus why did he go there? Once there, what did Jesus do? What caused John the Baptist’s disciples to ask him about Jesus and baptism? What was the heart of John’s response to them? How can John’s words inform our attitude toward Jesus today? Most scholars agree that verses 31-36 are the Apostle John’s words rather that John the Baptist’s words. If this is so, why did he interject this train of thought into this story at this time? How does the statement about the Father’s love in verse 35 relate to the statement about his love in verse 16? What’s the most important thing you learned from today’s sermon? From John 3:22-36? How has this sermon helped you to grow in love for God and others? What’s the most important thing Jesus would have you do in light of this sermon? Take some time to worship Jesus. Thank hi...

Announcements - April 9, 2017 Schedule for Holy Week and Easter: The Good Friday service will  be from 6:00-7:00 p.m. The Easter Service will be at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday. Both services will be at the Handke Center. Invite cards are available on the informational table. Foundation Builders 3 (Parenting Class) on Saturday, April 22: This class will meet at the church office from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Parents will learn the Bible’s call on them to go and make disciples of all nations, beginning with the first unreached people group in their lives: their own children. The class is taught by Pastor Kevin. Please RSVP to him by Monday, April 17. Youth Baptism Orientation Meeting: There will be a youth baptism orientation meeting on Tuesday, April 18 at the church office from 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. This meeting is designed for parents and their son or daughter who might be interested in pursuing the step of baptism. Participants will gain an understanding of the process of baptis...

Faith and the Body of Christ By Pastor Charlie The incubator of faith is the body of Christ. The food of faith is the Word of Christ and the light of faith is the Spirit of Christ, but the context in which it grows and prospers is the body of Christ. George Müller is famous for his faith in God, but his faith did not come out of nowhere. It was, of course, granted by the Holy Spirit (Romans 12:3), but it was fanned into flame by other believers who gathered with him to seek the Lord and advance in their Christian life together. For example, when he was a young man, he would regularly gather with about twenty believers to sing, pray, read the Scripture, read portions of godly books, and speak the Word to one another. When he was much older, he wrote about that time and the effect it had on him, both when he was seeking the Lord and when he was backsliding. Müller writes: I was often greatly stirred up and refreshed in these meetings; and once, being in a backsliding state, ...

God So Loved the World John 3:16-21 April 2, 2017 Questions for Study and Meditation In what specific way did God display his love for the world? To what end did he display his love? Does God love the whole world in the same way? Does God want the world to be condemned? What is the key difference between those who are condemned before God and those who are not? What ultimately causes a person to believe in Jesus Christ (see 1:12-13)? Why do people refuse to believe in Jesus? Why do those who love the light come into the light? What’s the most important thing you learned from today’s sermon? From John 3:16-21? How has this sermon helped you to grow in love for God and others? What’s the most important thing Jesus would have you do in light of this sermon? Take some time to worship Jesus. Thank him, praise him, and ask for his help as you seek to strive with other believers for the faith of the gospel.